South east highest employment rate in the UK

The south east has the highest employment rate in the country according to the Office for National Statistics.

There are 4.47million people in work in the region from September to November, equalling 77 per cent of the population.

Unemployment fell by 20,000 people compared to the previous period and by 37,000 in the same months as 2014.

The employment rate in the south east increased by 58,000 from the last period and by 60,000 from the same period 12 months ago.

Employment minister Priti Patel said: “This is a record-breaking set of figures – and has got 2016 off to a fantastic start.

“There are now more people in work than ever before and wages are growing consistently – a credit to hardworking Brits and businesses alike.

“And in a further demonstration of the strength of the UK labour market today’s figures show a record three quarters of a million vacancies available.

“The South East’s employment rate is the highest of all the UK regions.”

In Hastings and Rother, there was a drop of 16 and 19 per cent in claimants of job seeker’s allowance respectively.

There were 255 fewer claimants in Hastings and 145 fewer in Rother.

This is lower than the south east’s figures, which had a drop of 13 per cent.

Jobcentre Plus’ Chaquita Moore said: “We have had real success with our new enterprise allowance scheme by supporting job seekers starting up their own businesses.

“In the south east, 6000 businesses were started through the scheme.

“Getting a new job is one the most popular new year’s resolutions so we’ve been supporting the job seeker locally by offering a range of skills training through local training programmes and with help updating CVs.